I am a late bloomer in the world of cultivating immortals

but.

The next moment, after sensing that Wei Tu's physical condition had only 'slightly improved' and was more like 'bluffing', his panic vanished instantly, replaced by a cold sneer.

"I have no high-grade pills to replenish my mana or heal my injuries... Do you, a junior, have them, yet you're still just like me, forced to tough it out?"

His eyes flashed with a cold light, and as if undisturbed, he continued to manipulate the hand seals, burning the essence of his blood and the vital energy of his body, and fully urging the three treasures to besiege Wei Tu.

Take ten thousand steps back.

Even if Wei Tu truly had the 'capacity' to spare, he would still have to fight to the bitter end before he could willingly step down.

With such a fine treasure before him, how could an old cultivator like him be scared off by Wei Tu's few words?

Just as the Purple-Faced Hermit had thought.

After a short while, Wei Tu, who was outwardly strong but inwardly weak, finally began to falter. Although the 'demon dragon' he had transformed into was adept at both offense and defense, it was still unable to escape the encirclement of his three great treasures... After struggling violently for a while, it was almost captured alive by his [corpse-binding rope].

"It seems that this boy does not possess any Mahayana treasures that can defeat me." Seeing this, the Purple-Faced Hermit was secretly relieved but also disappointed.

The lack of counter-attack means that what he gained after killing Wei Tu is very likely to be far less than expected.

But until now.

Purple-faced hermit still dared not be careless; his true form remained far away to the side, not daring to 'pick up the scraps'.

However, after more than ten breaths, when he saw Wei Tu, who had been completely defeated and had withdrawn from the 'Demon Dragon' state, suddenly cover his forehead with his hand and show signs of self-destruction... he became anxious and risked moving closer.

Whether Wei Tu lives or dies is unimportant to him.

However, if Wei Tu's death leads to a 'gap' in the Mahayana resources and treasures related to Fairy Xuanling, then that would be undesirable.

It is a regret that one can carry for a lifetime.

After all—at this moment, he couldn't guarantee that the treasures Wei Tu, who had suddenly descended to the mortal realm, carried were the entirety of the legacy left behind by Fairy Xuanling.

"The legacy of Fairy Xuanling is worth... I will risk it and try to search this boy's soul!"

"Sixth-level body refinement is troublesome, but given what he has expended over the past six months, he must be exhausted."

"Moreover... even if it's a counterattack by a scheme, with the treasures I possess, I have nothing to fear!"

After hesitating for a moment, the Purple-Faced Hermit still hardened his heart. In a flash, he merged into the body of the 'Seventh-Order Flying Zombie' surrounding Wei Tu. He used the corpse's hideous withered claws to quickly reach towards Wei Tu's head, seemingly intending to 'search his soul' before Wei Tu committed suicide.

But also at this time.

The sudden change!

Just moments ago, Wei Tu was skin and bones, emaciated and looking like a dried corpse. In an instant, his skin grew flesh and his whole body swelled up like a balloon. The hand that was about to cover his head also transformed into a blood-red giant hand, tens of feet in size, like a towering tree, and suddenly grabbed at the purple-faced wanderer who was flying towards him.

This sudden turn of events left the Purple-Faced Hermit utterly astonished.

Even if he had some premonition, he only believed that Wei Tu possessed some great treasure that could turn the tables on him and pose a sufficient threat to him, a 'Great Cultivator of Integration'.

Unexpectedly, Wei Tu's physical body still had 'residual power' that could threaten him!

"This is not a sixth-level body refinement, it is clearly a seventh-level body refinement! The Ming family has misled me!" Looking at the blood-red giant hand that was getting closer and closer, covering the sky and the sun, the purple-faced hermit's face was extremely ugly, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart.

In terms of cultivation level, Wei Tu's early seventh-order body refinement, although still inferior to his genuine 'body fusion master', is a true 'deadly spiritual treasure' in close combat... a seventh-order body refiner's seventh-order magic body is a 'deadly spiritual treasure' that can truly threaten his life!

Excellent! The physical strength of a body cultivator at each level is comparable to that of a spiritual treasure of the same level.

Even worse.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Purple-Faced Hermit's physical body was not weak, but how could he possibly go head-to-head with a Body Refiner?
"Fortunately, I have this seventh-tier flying zombie. This flying zombie should be able to hold out and buy me enough time to escape..." The purple-faced wanderer was anxious, but he was also secretly glad that he had been careful when he made his move.

However, what happened next was somewhat unexpected for the Purple-Faced Hermit.

The crimson giant hand, formed from the 'Golden Body of Might,' gripped the seventh-tier flying zombie, yet the corpse did not immediately suffer any damage from this divine power...

but--

Along with this blood-red giant hand, came a massive black net churning with swirling demonic energy.

Although the net seemed ordinary, the moment the Purple-Faced Hermit came into contact with it, he felt that the space around him suddenly became a bit 'viscous'.

And he, like a fly caught in this giant net, could not move an inch.

"The Myriad Forbidden Curse?" Instantly, the Purple-Faced Hermit, who had experienced the great war between the two realms, recognized this top-tier divine power that was renowned in the ancient demon realm and was specifically designed to counter spiritual cultivators.

"You are an ancient demon? No! This Myriad Forbidden Demon Curse can only be forged with the demonic blood of an innate ancient demon... Could it be that you have been possessed by an innate ancient demon?"

The purple-faced hermit cried out in alarm.

At this moment, he could hardly remain calm.

He dared to confront and hunt down Wei Tu because Wei Tu's age and origins were verifiable—the most terrifying thing was the secret treasure that the Fairy Xuanling might be carrying.

How could he, as the personal disciple of the Iron-Headed Monk, possibly harbor any fear?

But... the Ancient Demons are different.

This is different from a seventh-order body-refining demon lord who possessed Wei Tu's body.

Its origins are shrouded in mystery and remain unknown.

Even at his peak, he had to be quite wary of many things, let alone now that he is in the lower realm... In terms of combat skills, he is far weaker than he was tens of thousands of years ago.

Click!Click!
Under the confinement of the 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curse', the 'Seventh-Order Flying Zombie' into which the Purple-Faced Wanderer merged could no longer withstand the blood-red hand formed by Wei Tu's 'Giant Golden Body'.

A series of crisp cracking sounds echoed throughout the seventh-tier flying zombies.

"No—" The purple-faced wanderer hiding inside the seventh-tier flying zombie couldn't help but scream, after all, the pain of this kind of physical compression was unbearable for ordinary people.

He could clearly sense that his physical body was being crushed inch by inch by the finger bones of Wei Tu's blood-red giant hand, turning it into a pulp.

"Can't wait any longer!"

"With the sheer power of this magical body, I will be crushed to death by this crimson hand in at most two breaths."

The purple-faced hermit's expression changed. He stopped making hand seals and no longer tried to escape from the black net formed by the 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curses' on his own.

With a thought, he activated a golden, Buddha-like statue hidden within his consciousness.

This statue is exactly the same as the one Wei Tu saw when he was 'spying' on this cultivator outside the Corpse King Sect.

At this moment, under the divine sense of the Purple-Faced Hermit, the Buddha statue suddenly radiated boundless golden light.

Enveloped in this golden light, the black runes emerging from the black net began to melt away at a visible speed...

In less than a moment, the 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curses' that imprisoned the Purple-Faced Wanderer was corroded by the golden light, creating a hole large enough for a person to pass through.

At this moment, the Purple-Faced Hermit, who had caught his breath, immediately broke free from the 'Seventh-Order Flying Zombie'. He dared not linger on the battlefield, nor did he dare to retract the 'Seventh-Order Flying Zombie' that was still trapped by the 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curse'. After giving Wei Tu a hateful look, he turned around and prepared to flee.

"Is that the golden statue?" At this moment, Wei Tu finally caught a glimpse of the 'Mahayana Technique' held by the Purple-Faced Hermit.

The reason he feigned defeat and fled all the way to this distant sea was to continuously deplete the Purple-Faced Hermit's magical power, thereby forcing him to use the 'Mahayana Techniques' or 'Mahayana Secret Treasures' left by his master, Iron-Headed Monk, to fight against the enemy.

From this point of view.

His goal was the same as that of the Purple-Faced Hermit.

However, the Purple-Faced Hermit mistakenly believed that he was the hunter and the hunter was the prey.

"but--"

“Wei has gone to great lengths to set up this trap and seized this golden opportunity, so how could he let you escape so easily?”

Wei Tu sneered, flipped his hand, and took out the [Longevity Lamp] sealed inside his arm.

This lamp was successfully awakened by the Purple-Faced Hermit with his magic while he was bound by the 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curse'. The green rust spots on the lamp post fell off, and the lamp plate made of amethyst shone brightly and began to bloom with brilliant light.

"Go!" Wei Tu moved his divine sense and pointed at the [Longevity Lamp] floating in front of him with his fingers.

In an instant, it was as if the great power of time had descended.

Under the flickering light of the Longevity Lamp, everything enveloped by its radiance began to corrode and decay at a visible speed.

Including the seventh-tier flying zombie that was bound by Wei Tu's 'Ten Thousand Forbidden Curse'.

Under this light, the flesh quickly rotted, turned into bones, and vanished into nothingness.

And the area covered by the spiritual light of this celestial lamp.

At that moment, the distance, which had been one foot or two feet, stretched to hundreds of miles in an instant.

"That's... a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure?"

The purple-faced hermit, who had just escaped and was preparing to flee, suddenly changed his expression, and his face turned deathly pale in a short time.

Along the way, he had been constantly pressuring Wei Tu to use the 'Great Vehicle Secret Treasure', but... he never thought of confronting this method so closely.

Moreover, Wei Tu's "heaven-reaching spiritual treasure" does not seem to be an ordinary heaven-reaching spiritual treasure. The magic power it activates is merely the fuse to light this lamp... The lamp oil is the key to creating such great power!

"The distance is too close, there's no escape! I have no choice but to... fight to the death." As the area covered by the lights got closer and closer and faster, the Purple-Faced Hermit's expression shifted for a moment before he finally made up his mind.

He flipped his hand and took out the golden statue again. Then, his mouth ripped open like a saw, and he swallowed the statue whole.

The next moment.

The Purple-Faced Hermit's manifested realm immediately soared from the Refining Void Realm to the Integration Realm, and then climbed all the way from the early Integration Realm, the middle Integration Realm, the late Integration Realm, to the peak Integration Realm.

Then, when the world of the human realm suddenly changed color.

A terrifying clap of thunder followed.

The Purple-Faced Hermit's realm has already approached the Mahayana realm, and it seems that he is only half a step away from becoming that unattainable 'Mahayana Immortal'.

At the same time, there seemed to be more chanting and countless golden figures around the Purple-Faced Hermit, as if they were worshipping him.

"That's... the power of incense and faith?"

At this moment, Wei Tu finally understood the true nature of the golden statue held by the Purple-Faced Hermit.

It is the renowned treasure of the cultivation world, the clan-protecting power of the various spirit races that helps them break through to the Mahayana realm—the power of incense!
It seems that only this item can enable the Purple-Faced Hermit to quickly advance to the 'Half-Step Mahayana' realm in this human world.

After all, the majority of the human race's incense offerings originate from the human realm. Fundamentally, they and the 'power of heaven and earth' of the human realm share a certain common origin.

However, after devouring the golden statue, the Purple-Faced Hermit seemed to have his intelligence corrupted, just like the Iron-Headed Monk in the Spirit Realm.

Its face no longer resembled that of a human, but rather that of a deity, standing majestically above the sea.

"Fortunately, I have this [Longevity Immortal Lamp] to rely on, otherwise, this time... if I had encountered this Purple-Faced Hermit, I would probably only have had one path left: death and annihilation."

Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly as he gazed into the distance at the clash between the light of the [Longevity Immortal Lamp] and the purple-faced wanderer who had suddenly advanced to the 'Half-Step Mahayana' realm.

A loud 'boom' was heard.

The multicolored light of the fairy lamps clashed head-on with the purple-faced hermit.

When the two first came into contact, even the purple-faced hermit, who was at the 'half-step Mahayana' level, was able to resist with his 'rule domain'.

But after a short break...

Its 'rule domain' was easily pierced by the spiritual light of the immortal lamp, bursting open like a spider web.

Immediately afterwards, a loud hissing sound rang out.

The Purple-Faced Hermit's body suffered the same fate as the seventh-tier flying zombie; his flesh melted away and quickly rotted, leaving only a pile of white bones...

However, unlike the seventh-tier flying zombie.

The speed at which the celestial lamp's spiritual light dissolved the purple-faced wanderer was much slower; it didn't dissolve the seventh-tier flying zombie with the speed of a flash.

At this point, only half of his body had been 'corroded' away.

"The time for the attack... is almost over."

Wei Tu frowned slightly and glanced at the 'oil' burning fiercely on the [Longevity Lamp].

When he obtained the 'Longevity Lamp' at Dinghai Immortal Ruins, he had a total of three opportunities to use the lamp due to the limited quantity of 'Eternal Flame Ointment'.

But this doesn't mean he can easily and continuously activate the lamp at the same time... After all, the lamp is also rapidly consuming his magical power.

Previously, he did indeed only have enough magic power left to activate the [Longevity Lamp] once.

"However, there's no need to worry about that at all..."

Wei Tu's eyes flickered slightly as he gazed at the purple-faced hermit, whose cultivation level had plummeted under the plundering power of the [Longevity Immortal Lamp].

Unlike other spiritual treasures that can reach the heavens.

The Longevity Lamp possesses the effect of 'devouring spirits'. Its power over time is merely one aspect of its properties.

With this balance of power... even after the lamp's attack ends, he should still be able to deal with the Purple-Faced Wanderer with considerable ease. (End of Chapter)